NATIONAL University (NU) seeks a payback win against Ateneo de Manila University in the UAAP Season 89 men’s basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday.
Game time is 2:30 p.m.
NU squandered a 17-point lead and fell to Ateneo in the first round, 76-87, on Oct. 3.
After that loss, the Bulldogs went on a tear and won their last four games. Overall, they have a 6-2 win-loss record, trailing only league-leader University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons (7-2) in the team standings.
Blasting Adamson by 36 points, 79-43, last Saturday, NU oozes with confidence entering Wednesday’s game against Ateneo.
Bulldogs head coach Jeff Napa said the mindset that they belong in the UAAP is working well for his team. He also lauded the leadership of Most Valuable Player contender Reinhard Jumamoy.
“Number 1, of course, is the mindset. That’s what we corrected right from the start. Then, of course, the belief in themselves that they are capable of competing here in the UAAP. That’s the big thing. That’s why we transformed the players into something,” Napa said.
“That’s the good thing about what’s happening in this team. So, of course, we have to be consistent, especially Ateneo is our opponent on Wednesday. Ateneo had a big win against FEU, so we will try our best, especially they beat us in the first round.” The Blue Eagles, on the other hand, are coming off a 75-72 victory over the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws last Saturday to snap a three-game losing skid.
Smacked in a three-way logjam for fourth place with Adamson and FEU, the Louie Alas-mentored Blue Eagles look to break free from the logjam and itself the thick of Final Four race.
A victory by the Blue Eagles would put Ateneo in a tie for third spot with the defending champion De La Salle University.
Of course, climbing to third place is also the mission of the Soaring Falcons and the Tamaraws, who collide in the second game at 5 p.m.
